SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "California
State Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act."

SEC. 2. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) Female genital mutilation is an extreme form of child abuse
and a violation of women's basic human rights. Female genital mutilation
is a medically unnecessary modification of the female genitalia which
typically occurs at about seven years of age, but is known to be practiced
on girls any time between infancy and puberty. Female genital mutilation
involves the excision of a young girl's clitoris and other parts of
the external genitalia. The most extreme form of this mutilation, known
as i nfibulation, also involves the sewing together of the two sides
of the vulva, leaving only a small opening for the passage of menstrual
blood and urine.

(b) Female genital mutilation is known to be practiced in 28
nations in the African continent, in a few countries in the Arab Peninsula,
among some minority communities in Asia, and among migrants from these
areas who have settled in Europe, Aus tralia, and North America. This
practice has come to California with the influx of recent immigrant
groups from countries that practice female genital mutilation.

(c) Preliminary research suggests that female genital mutilation
is occurring in California and that young girls in some new immigrant
populations are at high risk of the practice. Researchers have identified
young girls at risk of female genit al mutilation in several immigrant
populations in California, along with clear evidence among recently
immigrated parents residing in San Diego that they intend to mutilate
their daughters who have not yet had the procedure. These parents stated
that they will find a local provider or send their daughters back to
visit the country of origin for this purpose. Further, a few individuals
have acknowledged performing the practice in California. Clusters of
immigrants from nations where the practice of female genital mutilation
is common have been identified in the San Francisco Bay area, in San
Diego, and in Los Angeles.

(d) Female genital mutilation constitutes a major health risk
to women, with lifelong physical, psychological, and human rights consequences.
Complications due to female genital mutilation include, shock, hemorrhage,
infection, tetanus and sept icemia from unsterilized instruments, bladder
infection, and even death. Long-term complications include chronic vaginal
and uterine infections, severe pain during urination, menstruation,
and sexual intercourse, and obstetric complications due to obstruc tion
of the birth canal by scar tissue. For the obstructed infant, labor
can lead to brain damage or death.

(e) This 4,000-year-old cultural practice is not a requirement
of any major religion. According to the World Health Organization, most
families allow their daughters to undergo female genital mutilation
out of fear that no man will want to marr y an "uncircumcised" woman
and that she will be ostracized from the community. Further, some women
believe that clitoridectomy or infibulation are not only more hygienic,
but will also increase a woman's fertility. In some tribes, infibulation
is perfor med to protect family lineage through ensuring that wives
are virgins at marriage and that the children are verifiably the men's
descendants.

(f) The World Health Organization, which urges the elimination
of the practice, estimates that 2,000,000 girls undergo female genital
mutilation each year. Worldwide, approximately 128,000,000 girls and
women, now living, have been subject to t he procedure.

(g) It is time for this state to join with other states, nations,
and major health care and human rights organizations to condemn this
harmful and outdated procedure. The state must take a proactive role
to prevent these mutilations through edu cation and outreach activities
to make recent immigrants aware of California laws, standards, and expectations
for child protection. Heightened awareness among child protective services
workers, health care providers, educators, and law enforcement perso
nnel will also aid in achieving this end. Finally, criminal investigations
and prosecutions should be carried out, when necessary, to send a strong
message that California abhors this practice and views its abolition
as paramount to the health and welfare of these young girls.

SEC. 3. Article 8 (commencing with Section 124170) is added
to Chapter 3 of Part 2 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code,
to read: Article 8. Female Genital Mutilation Prevention

124170. The State Department of Health Services, in consultation
with the State Department of Social Services and the appropriate federal
agency or department, shall establish and implement appropriate education,
preventative, and outreach acti vities, focusing on the new immigrant
populations that traditionally practice female genital mutilation, for
the purpose of informing members of those communities of the health
risks and emotional trauma inflicted by this practice and informing
those comm unities and the medical community of the prohibition and
ramifications of Section 273.4 of the Penal Code. SEC. 4. Section
273.4 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

273.4.(a) If the act constituting a felony violation
of subdivision (a) of Section 273a was female genital mutilation, as
defined in subdivision (b), the defendant shall be punished by an additional
term of imprisonment in the state prison for one year, in addition and
consecutive to the punishment prescribed by Section 273a.

(b) "Female genital mutilation" means the excision or infibulation
of the labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, or vulva, performed for
nonmedical purposes.

(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under
Section 203, 205, or 206 or any other provision of law.